It is known to store elongated objects such as drill bits in a case formed with a plurality of grooves each intended to receive a respective one of the bits. A cover closes the case to hold the bits in their respective grooves. To remove one of the bits the cover is removed and the desired bit is picked out, and to replace it the cover is similarly removed and the bit is dropped back into its place.
Such an arrangement has several disadvantages. When the case is open it is possible to accidentally dump out its entire contents in which case it becomes extremely difficult to replace them all in the right order as it is virtually impossible to gauge bit size by eye when they are very small. Furthermore when the bit diameter is very small, frequently less than 1.0 mm in diameter, it is possible for one bit to rattle from one groove to the next in the closed case, once again making it very difficult to determine what belongs where.